You may have come across the interesting story of the Khasi matrilineal society in Meghalaya, India. In this beautiful land of hills, plateaus, and pristine streams, women enjoy special status where they inherit the property (actually the youngest daughter does), children take their mother’s surname and it is a woman who has maximum say in the affairs of her family. It is the men who shift to the wife’s home and stay with her family instead of what is common in most other Indian communities.

Take a trip to this beautiful state and you would find women everywhere from the markets to white and blue collared jobs. They walk shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts often leading them. There are few other communities in India where women play the lead role in business which perhaps puts the Khasis ahead of their time.But sadly this society today finds itself at the crossroads. And the pressure to transform and give up this age old practice is coming from within. Khasi men who traditionally had limited role to play in the affairs at home or the future of their children are increasingly asserting their rights. This is often leading to the confrontation at home and broken marriages. It isn’t uncommon to see single mothers bringing up her children with her husband had simply walked off from the marriage. As per the last census report, the state has one of the highest percentages of single parenting among women as the father hardly supports his children financially or otherwise.

It is also interesting to note that there are several men’s groups that have come up in the recent years who are opposed to the traditional matrilineal system. They justify their anger on being made to feel unwanted in their wife’s house where nobody cares about them or their opinion. In the modern world where Khasi men are increasingly coming in contact with other communities, they are making a pitch for doing away with this system which they say is unjust to them. They feel that there is a little role of a father in the upbringing of his children and they also have no rights over material wealth.

While this may seem to be a perfect case of patriarchy setting into the society, experts suggest that the said statute of Khasi women in the society and the power they wield is often misrepresented. So are Khasi women as powerful as they are made out to be? Do they exercise complete rights over the affairs of the society? This is where perhaps the biggest irony creeps in. While women do have a more important role to play at home and often have the final say in domestic affairs they wield little political power in the society.

What may come as a shock is the fact that women are barred from participating in the traditional form of village governance which is the sole domain of the menfolk. Even the amendments brought to the Panchayati Raj System in India about three decades back haven’t changed the status of women when it comes to participating in societal governance. They are barred from becoming part of the local Dorbar, the grassroots governance body. While there are a few exceptions in some of the urban areas they mostly play ceremonial roles. Their representation in State Assembly and the District Council is appalling as there are just 4 MLAs in the 60 member Legislative Assembly and the peak figure only stood at 5 in 1998.And their poor participation in the democratic setup is perhaps an indicator why the very existence of the matrilineal system is being questioned in the state. The last vestige of a Khasi woman’s stature exists only in her home and now even this doesn’t seem to be safe anymore. Will this age old system survive the onslaught of modernity? Are Khasi women really as powerful as is being told to the world? While there are no definite answers to these questions but what stares at the community is that the loss of this system would be an irreparable loss in terms of its cultural identity.

Is Khasi Matrilineal Society of Meghalaya at Crossroads

You may have come across the interesting story of the Khasi matrilineal society in Meghalaya, India. In this beautiful land of hills, plateaus, and pristine streams, women enjoy special status where they inherit the property (actually the youngest daughter does), children take their mother’s surname and it is a woman who has maximum say in the affairs of her family. It is the men who shift to the wife’s home and stay with her family instead of what is common in most other Indian communities.

Take a trip to this beautiful state and you would find women everywhere from the markets to white and blue collared jobs. They walk shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts often leading them. There are few other communities in India where women play the lead role in business which perhaps puts the Khasis ahead of their time.But sadly this society today finds itself at the crossroads. And the pressure to transform and give up this age old practice is coming from within. Khasi men who traditionally had limited role to play in the affairs at home or the future of their children are increasingly asserting their rights. This is often leading to the confrontation at home and broken marriages. It isn’t uncommon to see single mothers bringing up her children with her husband had simply walked off from the marriage. As per the last census report, the state has one of the highest percentages of single parenting among women as the father hardly supports his children financially or otherwise.

It is also interesting to note that there are several men’s groups that have come up in the recent years who are opposed to the traditional matrilineal system. They justify their anger on being made to feel unwanted in their wife’s house where nobody cares about them or their opinion. In the modern world where Khasi men are increasingly coming in contact with other communities, they are making a pitch for doing away with this system which they say is unjust to them. They feel that there is a little role of a father in the upbringing of his children and they also have no rights over material wealth.

While this may seem to be a perfect case of patriarchy setting into the society, experts suggest that the said statute of Khasi women in the society and the power they wield is often misrepresented. So are Khasi women as powerful as they are made out to be? Do they exercise complete rights over the affairs of the society? This is where perhaps the biggest irony creeps in. While women do have a more important role to play at home and often have the final say in domestic affairs they wield little political power in the society.

What may come as a shock is the fact that women are barred from participating in the traditional form of village governance which is the sole domain of the menfolk. Even the amendments brought to the Panchayati Raj System in India about three decades back haven’t changed the status of women when it comes to participating in societal governance. They are barred from becoming part of the local Dorbar, the grassroots governance body. While there are a few exceptions in some of the urban areas they mostly play ceremonial roles. Their representation in State Assembly and the District Council is appalling as there are just 4 MLAs in the 60 member Legislative Assembly and the peak figure only stood at 5 in 1998.And their poor participation in the democratic setup is perhaps an indicator why the very existence of the matrilineal system is being questioned in the state. The last vestige of a Khasi woman’s stature exists only in her home and now even this doesn’t seem to be safe anymore. Will this age old system survive the onslaught of modernity? Are Khasi women really as powerful as is being told to the world? While there are no definite answers to these questions but what stares at the community is that the loss of this system would be an irreparable loss in terms of its cultural identity.